PRODIGY
At 18 years old, he is one of the greats of Brazilian tennis
Published on December 24, 2024 at 08:49
João Fonseca was the Next Gen Finals champion Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour
It’s not just talent that makes a great tennis player. It also takes professionalism and a solid structure behind the scenes for a young athlete to shine on the circuit. And also in this aspect, young João Fonseca has been standing out on the circuit, after shining this season. At 18 years old, he already has a consolidated team to take care of his technical and physical preparation. It has strong sponsors and the unconditional support of its parents, who also act as its businesspeople with their background as professional managers.
Fonseca made headlines over the past week, especially on Sunday, when he became champion of the Next Gen Finals Tournament, a competition that brings together the eight best in the world under 20 years old. The Rio native is 18 and became only the third of his age to lift the trophy. The others were the Italian Jannik Sinner, number 1 in the world, and the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz, former leader of the ranking – the two shared the four 2024 Grand Slam trophies.
The title won undefeated in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with performances praised in the tennis world, definitively placed Fonseca on the list of world promises. He already won the US Open youth title last year and was ranked number 1 in the world in the category.
Whether Fonseca will be able to match the titles and status of Sinner and Alcaraz in the future is impossible to predict. The tennis player’s present, on the other hand, already has an unusual structure for athletes of this age in national tennis. Fonseca has a consolidated team, headed by coach Guilherme Teixeira, with the support of physiotherapist Egídio Magalhães Júnior and physical trainer Emmanuel Jimenez.
At least two of them accompany Fonseca in every tournament on the calendar, which is almost a luxury in Brazilian tennis. For comparison purposes, Beatriz Haddad Maia, number 1 in Brazil and Top 20 in the world, needed years on the circuit to have a team that would accompany her in almost all competitions.
The impediments are, as usual, the high costs of supporting two or three professionals in tournaments across Europe, Asia and the United States. The tennis player needs to pay for airline tickets, hotel stays, food, local transportation, in addition to his own salary for his team members. And all this with an unfavorable exchange rate.
With his coach, Fonseca already has an established relationship on the circuit. Guilherme Teixeira has worked with teenagers since they were 12 years old. “Guilherme is almost like a father to me. I was lucky enough to meet him when I was 12 years old and training at the Country Club (in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro)”, says the tennis player. “I talk to him about anything, I just have to be grateful for having him in my life. This relationship between coach and player is very important for both, not just for the athlete.”
Together, they also define what the calendar and ranking projections will be like – the Brazilian is currently 145th in the world. “I know there’s a lot ahead of me. I have ranking goals, titles goals, but that’s more personal and I talk to my coach. I don’t like talking because it will create expectations.”
The technical team is supported by Fonseca’s parents, who have always been amateur athletes and have extensive experience in professional management. Christiano Fonseca Filho is from the financial market and is a co-founding partner of IP Capital. Roberta Fonseca, the tennis player’s mother, has already organized sporting events.
They take care of managing Fonseca’s career, with a constant presence at tournaments. On Sunday, they saw their son’s victory in the Nex Gen final, which earned the young athlete the incredible sum of US$526,480.00 (a prize equivalent to the circuit’s major tournaments), around R$3.3 million.
When informed about the amount he would receive, for being undefeated champion, Fonseca couldn’t hide his smile. “I can’t say this is bad,” joked the 18-year-old Brazilian. “I’m young. Luckily, I have my parents to help me with the money, which is quite a lot.”
The family management gained a new member in the second half of this year. Fonseca was also managed by businessman Gustavo Abreu, who also has extensive experience in the financial market and is close to the family. Abreu will make Fonseca’s finest connection with tournaments and sporting events.
The good family management of Fonseca’s career has already resulted in good contracts with major sponsors. The first major partner is the Swiss company ON, a sports products company whose partner is none other than Roger Federer. The Brazilian was one of the first three tennis players to receive such support, at just 16 years old. The others were Polish Iga Swiatek, then number 1 in the world, and American Ben Shelton, the United States’ biggest promise in recent years.
Fonseca also has the support of the traditional Rolex, always present in major tournaments and on the CV of the greatest tennis players on the circuit, and JF Living, a construction company specializing in luxury developments and which has as one of its partners Jorge Felipe Lemann, son of the billionaire, former -tennis player and patron of the sport Jorge Paulo Lemann.
The young Brazilian has support from XP Investimentos in his portfolio. Fonseca was handpicked by Guilherme Benchimol, founder and former CEO of the company, even before he emerged as a youth player – it is no coincidence that he has been a constant figure on the businessman’s social networks in recent days. The teenager from Rio also has the support of Yonex Tennis, which provides the athlete’s sporting equipment.
